Veteran India pacer Mohammed Shami returned to first-class cricket after nearly nine months, earning a spot in East Zone’s squad for the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy. However, 14-year-old batting prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi, fresh off a record-breaking tour with India Under-19s, did not find a place in the main squad.
The East Zone selectors unveiled a 15-member squad on Thursday, with Ishan Kishan named captain. Kishan has recently shown strong form for Nottinghamshire in the County Championship Division One, where he struck two half-centuries in as many innings. Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has been part of India’s Test setup in England, will serve as vice-captain.
Shami, 34, last played red-ball cricket for Bengal in November 2024 in the Ranji Trophy. His most recent Test appearance was in the World Test Championship final in June 2023. His inclusion signals a potential return to long-format cricket, as he picked up six wickets in nine matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad during IPL 2025.
While Shami’s experience adds firepower to East Zone’s pace attack—alongside Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep—the omission of young Vaibhav Suryavanshi from the main squad has raised eyebrows. The teenager stunned observers on India Under-19’s tour of England last month by smashing the fastest century in Youth ODI history. Despite that, he finds himself among only six standbys.
East Zone’s selectors appeared to favour experience and domestic consistency, with Jharkhand duo Virat Singh and Sharandeep Singh—top run-scorers in last season’s Ranji Trophy—retaining their places. Assam spinner Manishi, who claimed 22 wickets in the Ranji season, also features prominently.
Notably absent from the squad is Sudip Chatterjee, Bengal’s leading scorer in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy, while his teammate Sudip Kumar Gharami has also been relegated to the standbys.
The selection was made by a six-member zonal panel representing Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam and Tripura, with Jharkhand’s Saurabh Tiwary serving as convener.
East Zone will open their Duleep Trophy campaign against North Zone in Bengaluru from August 28. The tournament returns in zonal format. The last time it was played in this format in 2023-24, South Zone were the winners.
East Zone Squad for 2025-26 Duleep Trophy:
Ishan Kishan (capt), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vc), Sandeep Patnaik, Virat Singh, Denish Das, Sridam Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra, Riyan Parag, Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Shami
Standbys:
Mukhtar Hussain, Aasirwad Swain, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Swastik Samal, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Rahul Singh
